Hamilton to skip Thursday at Monza

The local broadcaster said the world championship leader will only be at the circuit ahead of Friday practice for the Italian grand prix.

“In Hungary Ferrari was exempted from Thursday activities, but that was due to the death of president Sergio Marchionne,” Sky said.

“To date there is no official justification, and Lewis’ reasons may be personal,” the report added.

‘We have to keep our heads down’ – Toto Wolff

F1 now heads to Monza for the Italian GP, where Toto is expecting another tough weekend. But, the team is pushing hard to get the best result possible out of it.

“Over the course of this season, the performance has shifted a number of times between Ferrari and us, so nobody can take anything for granted,” he said.

“We just have to keep our heads down, focus on developing our car and take it race by race. We brought a good step forward to Spa with our new engines and we need to keep developing quickly over the next weeks.

“We’re now looking forward to the race in Monza – the last of the European races and a Grand Prix with a truly great atmosphere, thanks to thousands of Tifosi.

“Last year, we celebrated a 1-2 in Monza. This year, nobody expects it to be easy and we will have to step up our game in order to challenge for victory.

“The Ferrari has been impressively quick on the straights lately which is certainly an advantage on a track like Monza. But we will be fighting them with everything we’ve got.”